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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to conveyors and more particularly to an apparatus for greasing the rollers of conveyor belt systems.
2. Description of the Related Art
In idler or pulley rollers for conveyor belts, there have been many devices made for greasing the bearings therein. One common way is to have a grease fitting in a rotating part of the roller with a passageway leading to the bearing. A problem with this solution is that the bearing cannot be greased xe2x80x9con the flyxe2x80x9d, meaning while the roller is moving.
Other systems, such as that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,664,644 to Reicks et al have ways of putting the grease fitting in the shaft itself so that the bearing can be lubricated while the rotating part is moving. That way the conveyor system can continue to operate while grease is applied to the bearings thereof. In the aforementioned Reicks et al patent, an axial drilling must be made along the center of the shaft and radial borings must also be made in order to transport the grease to the back side of a bearing so that the bearing can be greased while the roller is moving. This is a fairly expensive operation and will weaken the structure integrity of the shaft, if not, perhaps, requiring a larger shaft than would otherwise be necessary.
Accordingly, there is a need for a grease distribution system for conveyor belt rollers which will overcome the aforementioned problems.
The present invention relates to a conveyor belt greasing apparatus for rollers having a shaft with a roller adapted to support a portion of the conveyor belt. The roller includes a radially inwardly facing portion on at least one end thereof and has a bearing disposed in the radially inwardly facing portion. The bearing has an inner and an outer race rotatable with respect to each other and has movable bearing members disposed between the inner and outer races for reducing friction when one of the inner or outer races rotates with respect to the other one. An annular member is operatively disposed on the shaft adjacent to the bearing and is fixed with respect to the shaft.
A first annular seal is disposed around the shaft for sealing between the shaft and the annular member. A second annular seal is in place for sealing between the roller and the shaft as the roller rotates with respect to the shaft. A first grease chamber in the roller is positioned between the second annular seal and one end of the bearing and a second grease chamber is positioned adjacent to the other end of the bearing. A depression in the shaft extends from a first end between the first seal member and the other end of the bearing and a second end of the depression is disposed between the second annular seal member and the bearing. The second end of the depression is in fluid communication with the first grease receiving chamber. A passageway in the annular member has a grease supply port on one end thereof and an annular portion on the other end thereof so that the annular portion of the passageway is in fluid communication with the first end of the depression and the shaft. A grease outlet is provided adjacent to the second grease chamber to allow grease to exit therefrom. This arrangement allows grease to enter the inlet of the passageway, pass into the annular outlet portion of the passageway to the first end of the depression in the shaft. Then the grease will pass out the second end of the depression in the shaft to the first grease receiving chamber. From there the grease will pass through the bearing to the second grease receiving chamber and then out of the grease outlet.
An object of the present invention is to provide an improved grease distribution system for conveyor belt rollers.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a greasing system which allows conveyor belt rollers to be greased xe2x80x9con the flyxe2x80x9d so that the conveyor belt system does not need to be shut down in order to grease the bearings of the rollers.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide a system whereby grease can be applied on one side of the bearing but such grease flows first to the opposite side of the bearing and then out the side close to the inlet of the grease fitting so that the person applying the grease can easily determine when the bearing has been completely supplied with grease.
A still further object of the present invention is to permit a slot to be milled in the shaft to form a grease passageway to the back side of the bearing which is cheaper than other ways to get grease to the back side of a bearing in a conveyor roller system.
Other objects, advantages, and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.